Internship Blog - click on Title to read full Blog and see Photos

Internal Waves and Whales

Author:
Keegan Brophy

Hello all:

It's day three of the first of two cruises in the North Pacific. The sun is shining and the weather has been good so far. The food on the Thompson has been awesome, with suchi for lunch and dinner that you would find in a find dining resturant.

Since leaving port, we did CTD casts for the first 24hrs of the cruise. Starting in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which seperates Canada and the US. My job was to prepare the CTD by cocking the Niskin bottles which are used to collect water samples at a given depth in the water column. Then we would deploy the CTD, firing the bottles at the depth that the scientists require. Once back on board I assted the scientists in collecting water samples to find the nutrient content of the sample.

Yesterday evening as we recovered an AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle), Grey Whales were spotted off the port bow,water spouts flying high in the sky. Then this morning a pod of Orca's came very close to the ship as a Sea Lion hugged the Thompson trying to avoid detection from the killer whales.

After breakfest this morning (4/24/2013) we began the search for internal waves. Internal waves are very similar to the waves found on the sea surface, but travel within the water column. To do this we used a combo of a side mounted echosounder along with a towfish called "SWIMS" that is towed from astern. I assisted in the deployment of SWIMS by manning a tag line while it was guided into the water. I shall report again soon, hopefully with a better internet connection so I can include photos. Well, until next time!!

WOW, really interesting stff, Keeg! And you really do a great job telling us what you are doing. Well written. Love, Gran'pa
Ralph Wyss

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers DRL/ITEST 1312333 and DUE/ATE 1104310. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.